bullseye
It's all becoming more clear now. Our small local church at Church in the Boro must of necessity, become purposeful and public and clear about the missional DNA of the gospel. If being missional is in the DNA of the gospel, and if a local church is built on the gospel, then our local church(es) must pursue the following.
1. We must be missional in and about our vocation. God gives us work to glorify Him, make money, provide for our needs, and provide for the needs of others. But He also gives us work - as well as talents and skills - to purposefully influence and impact those around us toward becoming a disciple of Jesus with us. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that you will use every ounce of energy and every atom of skill in your body and in your life to be counter-cultural at work, at school, at wherever, with the gospel. In other words, Jesus and our local church expect that you will use your skills and influence in your workplace or school for the mission, or give it up and find another one if the mission requires it.
2. We must become missional in and about our finances. God gives us money to meet needs. He gives it to us to meet our own needs, and He gives it in abundance to us to meet the needs of others. Money is the currency of the kingdom not of our national economy. And missional-money is a matter of fairness, according to Paul in 2 Corinthians 8. Those who have an abundance are given it by God to provide for those who have nothing. It's that simple. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that you will use every dollar and cent in your possession and within your ability to earn, for the mission God has called us to. In other words, Jesus and our local church expects that you will give your money away for the mission as often as the mission requires it.
3. We must be missional in and about our homes. God gives us homes to evangelize the lost. The Bible calls it hospitality. And the original meaning of the word is to invite strangers into your home and encourage them, befriend them, and lead them to become disciples of Jesus with us. Our homes are not intendend to be safe-havens from crime and death, because Jesus has called us to take up our crosses and follow Him...to die. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that you will either use your home as often as humanly possible as a hospitality suite for the lost, or that you will sell it and move into another home where you can engage in the mission in a deeper way. In other words, Jesus and our local church expects that you will sell your home and move somewhere else if the mission requires it.
4. We must be missional in and about our education. God gives us education to be smarter and exercise responsible dominion over His earth. God doesn't want His children to be dumb, ignorant, or stupid. He also expects, however, that His children will redeem learning and education so that it is brought into submission to His authority. This redemption necessarily takes place in spheres of learning where other people are learning along with us. This puts us in a strategic missional place to influence others to be disciples of Jesus. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that you will redeem everything you learn for the glory of God by using what you learn to bring others to God. In other words, Jesus and our local church expects that you will use whatever you learn to influence others to become disciples of Jesus.
5. We must be missional in and about our friendships. God gives us friends to comfort and encourage us. But these friends need Jesus. And so do the enemies of God. Those who do not follow Jesus are called by this name. And yet look how Jesus befriended His Father's enemies! The enemies of God are not all Satan incarnate. They are people, just like you and me, made in the image of God, and made to enjoy God. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that arguing, debating, and fighting with lost people is to become a forgotten past-time, and replaced with loving, valuing, and encouraging all people, regardless of religious-preference. In other words, Jesus and our local church expects that you will love all people in order to show them the love of the Father, which He showed at the cross, in order to woo them to becoming a disciple of Jesus.
These must become the five new tenets of church membership at Church in the Boro, as well as every local church whose purpose is to be biblical and God-glorifying.
1. We must be missional in and about our vocation. God gives us work to glorify Him, make money, provide for our needs, and provide for the needs of others. But He also gives us work - as well as talents and skills - to purposefully influence and impact those around us toward becoming a disciple of Jesus with us. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that you will use every ounce of energy and every atom of skill in your body and in your life to be counter-cultural at work, at school, at wherever, with the gospel. In other words, Jesus and our local church expect that you will use your skills and influence in your workplace or school for the mission, or give it up and find another one if the mission requires it.
2. We must become missional in and about our finances. God gives us money to meet needs. He gives it to us to meet our own needs, and He gives it in abundance to us to meet the needs of others. Money is the currency of the kingdom not of our national economy. And missional-money is a matter of fairness, according to Paul in 2 Corinthians 8. Those who have an abundance are given it by God to provide for those who have nothing. It's that simple. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that you will use every dollar and cent in your possession and within your ability to earn, for the mission God has called us to. In other words, Jesus and our local church expects that you will give your money away for the mission as often as the mission requires it.
3. We must be missional in and about our homes. God gives us homes to evangelize the lost. The Bible calls it hospitality. And the original meaning of the word is to invite strangers into your home and encourage them, befriend them, and lead them to become disciples of Jesus with us. Our homes are not intendend to be safe-havens from crime and death, because Jesus has called us to take up our crosses and follow Him...to die. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that you will either use your home as often as humanly possible as a hospitality suite for the lost, or that you will sell it and move into another home where you can engage in the mission in a deeper way. In other words, Jesus and our local church expects that you will sell your home and move somewhere else if the mission requires it.
4. We must be missional in and about our education. God gives us education to be smarter and exercise responsible dominion over His earth. God doesn't want His children to be dumb, ignorant, or stupid. He also expects, however, that His children will redeem learning and education so that it is brought into submission to His authority. This redemption necessarily takes place in spheres of learning where other people are learning along with us. This puts us in a strategic missional place to influence others to be disciples of Jesus. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that you will redeem everything you learn for the glory of God by using what you learn to bring others to God. In other words, Jesus and our local church expects that you will use whatever you learn to influence others to become disciples of Jesus.
5. We must be missional in and about our friendships. God gives us friends to comfort and encourage us. But these friends need Jesus. And so do the enemies of God. Those who do not follow Jesus are called by this name. And yet look how Jesus befriended His Father's enemies! The enemies of God are not all Satan incarnate. They are people, just like you and me, made in the image of God, and made to enjoy God. So to be a biblical church member is to determine from this day forth that arguing, debating, and fighting with lost people is to become a forgotten past-time, and replaced with loving, valuing, and encouraging all people, regardless of religious-preference. In other words, Jesus and our local church expects that you will love all people in order to show them the love of the Father, which He showed at the cross, in order to woo them to becoming a disciple of Jesus.
These must become the five new tenets of church membership at Church in the Boro, as well as every local church whose purpose is to be biblical and God-glorifying.
Church in the Boro is a small church plant, like many others. There's no particular motivation to give to this church plant above any other. I'm just putting a consideration before you based on Galatians 6:6. Here's how it reads from the New Living Translation.
The reason for this is a simple word called koinonia. Koinonia is the Greek word for "fellowship" or "partnership", and it I almost always tend to use the word to refer to eating with friends. But the New Testament teaches that the word is about a purposeful, intentional, voluntary, and willing participation in the sufferings, trials, and needs of others. The apostle Paul described it this way in Philippians 1:3-8. The words in red are translations from the Greek word koinonia.
3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
Giving money and resources is one of the greatest reflections of koinonia. When we intensely feel the needs, trials, and sufferings of others enough to give to fix it, we are experiencing and enjoying koinonia. And that's where the presence of Jesus is usually found.
This is not some sort of Bible-driven manipulative attempt to squeeze another dollar from your life. And it's not a demand of any kind. Otherwise, nobody would read Christian blogs anymore.
It is a plea to do something powerful: fund the mission we're on. And here's that mission in a nutshell.
And we pursue our mission through our vision. It's our very wordy way of giving our lives a daily philosophical focus. We are pursuing the following things about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We'd be privileged to have you partner with us in ANY way, whether it's just a buck or two...or whether it's a whole lot more. If experiencing koinonia with us is something you feel the Spirit specifically leading you to do right now, then click on the give. button below to be a blessing to us...and to the mission we are on. The account is Paypal secured and verified so you can donate with peace of mind. Thank you.
"Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers,
sharing all good things with them."
sharing all good things with them."
The reason for this is a simple word called koinonia. Koinonia is the Greek word for "fellowship" or "partnership", and it I almost always tend to use the word to refer to eating with friends. But the New Testament teaches that the word is about a purposeful, intentional, voluntary, and willing participation in the sufferings, trials, and needs of others. The apostle Paul described it this way in Philippians 1:3-8. The words in red are translations from the Greek word koinonia.
3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
Giving money and resources is one of the greatest reflections of koinonia. When we intensely feel the needs, trials, and sufferings of others enough to give to fix it, we are experiencing and enjoying koinonia. And that's where the presence of Jesus is usually found.
This is not some sort of Bible-driven manipulative attempt to squeeze another dollar from your life. And it's not a demand of any kind. Otherwise, nobody would read Christian blogs anymore.
It is a plea to do something powerful: fund the mission we're on. And here's that mission in a nutshell.
And we pursue our mission through our vision. It's our very wordy way of giving our lives a daily philosophical focus. We are pursuing the following things about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We'd be privileged to have you partner with us in ANY way, whether it's just a buck or two...or whether it's a whole lot more. If experiencing koinonia with us is something you feel the Spirit specifically leading you to do right now, then click on the give. button below to be a blessing to us...and to the mission we are on. The account is Paypal secured and verified so you can donate with peace of mind. Thank you.
1 Kings 17
Social Welfare and Christian Welfare: The Gospel Dissolves Laziness
Friday, August 07, 2009
Our governmental welfare system today in the US is largely built off of laziness. No doubt, this will anger some. But it is the truth. In 1 Timothy 5, the Christian who doesn't provide for the needs of his own family is said to be worse than an unbeliever, or as one who has denied the faith. This must mean, therefore, that those who don't provide for the needs of their family members are just plain unbelievers. This is not a statement of anger but of truth: when a segment of society determines that they are not responsible to provide for their own well being, they are behaving as those who have no faith.
What I gather from Paul on this point is that laziness and not providing for personal needs of yourself and your family members is equal to a denial of the faith, or of the gospel. Unbelief says, "I can't do anything. I can't do anything right. I can't do anything at all. So I'll let someone else care for me. Better yet, because I can't do anything, it is someone else's responsibility to take care of me." And so our welfare system is maintained, those not working, profiting from those who do work, the harvest of the responsible being mandatorily converted into a harvest for the irresponsible.
And please note here, that if you, dear reader, are on welfare of any kind, and you are a responsible Christian who has simply fallen on hard times and is unable to find work of any kind, and who has a church family who does not take care of you in your needs, then you have the unlimited grace and favor of God upon you. Use it. Enjoy it. But have a seriously short relationship with it. God will give you greater favor for using the talents, skills, giftings, visions, and burdens HE has put within you to bless you and give you a harvest big enough to feed yourself and those you love.
The reason for the post here, however, is not to bash the welfare system of our federal government, nor to discuss the truth that social welfare is the responsibility of the local churches. Rather, it is to compare something interesting, namely, that there is also a segment of Christian society who have fallen to laziness, who do not think it is their personal responsibility to provide for the needs of the kingdom of God, and thereby be an integral part of its expansion.
I speak primarily of the kind of Christian I used to be. You would know the old me well. Just trying to get by, pay my bills, watch a little T.V., enjoy a good weekend, and go to church with my family. Oh yeah. And give a little bit to the church...if I had anything left over. I was subsisting. When our car broke down it was the end of the world. And we used our credit cards...again...and again...and again. I would talk often of big dreams and visions, preach about my burdens. But I did little if anything to actually use the giftings, talents, and skills God has wired within me to actually do anything with those dreams and visions, much less anything to get me closer to them. I was all talk.
Do you know why? Because my theology was jacked. I had some wierd theology of God and blessing...and I don't know where I got it...that told me that all I had to do was just be faithful in my walk with Jesus and all the blessings would come to me. And oh, how gracious God was to me in those ignorant times, because He did bless me and provide for me. But it was not without painful lessons....ones that I seemed to have to learn over and over again.
Today, life is different. The gospel is more clear to me. And do you know what it implies? I've been delivered from laziness. I've been delivered into the kingdom of God, by the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, by the God who has promised to provide all my needs by His riches in glory through Christ Jesus, by the God who didn't hold back His own Son for my salvation as a downpayment on everything else He'll give me too. The gospel dissolves laziness into the pitiful puddle of sadness it really is.
So Christian welfare must die a quick death. You've envisioned what God might do with you in the kingdom, right? So make a way to do it. Find a way. Pray a way. Create a way. Entrepreneur your way, if necessary. God has freed you from the provisions of this world so that you are not owned by defeat, debt, discouragement...or the ultimate end of these paths which all lead to laziness and complacency. He has defeated everything which holds you...His beloved child...back from using all that He has put within you to expand His kingdom and do what He saved you to do. No more laziness, dear Christian. No more.
Find every jar in the house you can find, like the widow of Zarephath in Elisha's day, and bring them to the Lord to be filled (1 Kings 17). Then search for every other jar you can possibly find, and bring those to Him too. Bring as many baskets as you can, for the leftovers the Lord will provide when His miraculous, exponential, replicating work of your last little bit of supply is worked right before your eyes (Matthew 14). Take the arrows God has given you and beat the ground with them over, and over, and over, and over again and again and again and again until you are too tired to stand up straight, and then wait for the promised blessing from the Lord (2 Kings 13). Use every net you can muster to haul in the fish the Lord will give you when you follow the lead of His voice in prayer, waiting on a word of knowledge on where to find the resources you need (Luke 5, John 21).
The gospel is a promise. It is God's guarantee that everything you put your hand to will be blessed. But you must believe. And believing means acting like these promise, this amazing guarantee is true about you. That's why those who don't work are called unbelievers in 1 Timothy 5:8. They don't live like they believe in the promise of the gospel. Christians LIVE like they believe in the gospel. They WORK like it. They GIVE like it. They SPEND like it. They PLANT like it. They HARVEST like it. They CREATE BUSINESSES like they believe in the gospel. They MULTIPLY MONEY like they believe in it.
If you are a saint, this is what God has called you to do. Leave any reflections of laziness behind you. You have the promise, guarantee, and in fact, the very person of God not just behind your efforts, but within your efforts. It is God who works within you to do what you do, for His glory, and for the provision of your needs and most importantly the expansion of the kingdom of God.
What I gather from Paul on this point is that laziness and not providing for personal needs of yourself and your family members is equal to a denial of the faith, or of the gospel. Unbelief says, "I can't do anything. I can't do anything right. I can't do anything at all. So I'll let someone else care for me. Better yet, because I can't do anything, it is someone else's responsibility to take care of me." And so our welfare system is maintained, those not working, profiting from those who do work, the harvest of the responsible being mandatorily converted into a harvest for the irresponsible.
And please note here, that if you, dear reader, are on welfare of any kind, and you are a responsible Christian who has simply fallen on hard times and is unable to find work of any kind, and who has a church family who does not take care of you in your needs, then you have the unlimited grace and favor of God upon you. Use it. Enjoy it. But have a seriously short relationship with it. God will give you greater favor for using the talents, skills, giftings, visions, and burdens HE has put within you to bless you and give you a harvest big enough to feed yourself and those you love.
The reason for the post here, however, is not to bash the welfare system of our federal government, nor to discuss the truth that social welfare is the responsibility of the local churches. Rather, it is to compare something interesting, namely, that there is also a segment of Christian society who have fallen to laziness, who do not think it is their personal responsibility to provide for the needs of the kingdom of God, and thereby be an integral part of its expansion.
I speak primarily of the kind of Christian I used to be. You would know the old me well. Just trying to get by, pay my bills, watch a little T.V., enjoy a good weekend, and go to church with my family. Oh yeah. And give a little bit to the church...if I had anything left over. I was subsisting. When our car broke down it was the end of the world. And we used our credit cards...again...and again...and again. I would talk often of big dreams and visions, preach about my burdens. But I did little if anything to actually use the giftings, talents, and skills God has wired within me to actually do anything with those dreams and visions, much less anything to get me closer to them. I was all talk.
Do you know why? Because my theology was jacked. I had some wierd theology of God and blessing...and I don't know where I got it...that told me that all I had to do was just be faithful in my walk with Jesus and all the blessings would come to me. And oh, how gracious God was to me in those ignorant times, because He did bless me and provide for me. But it was not without painful lessons....ones that I seemed to have to learn over and over again.
Today, life is different. The gospel is more clear to me. And do you know what it implies? I've been delivered from laziness. I've been delivered into the kingdom of God, by the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, by the God who has promised to provide all my needs by His riches in glory through Christ Jesus, by the God who didn't hold back His own Son for my salvation as a downpayment on everything else He'll give me too. The gospel dissolves laziness into the pitiful puddle of sadness it really is.
So Christian welfare must die a quick death. You've envisioned what God might do with you in the kingdom, right? So make a way to do it. Find a way. Pray a way. Create a way. Entrepreneur your way, if necessary. God has freed you from the provisions of this world so that you are not owned by defeat, debt, discouragement...or the ultimate end of these paths which all lead to laziness and complacency. He has defeated everything which holds you...His beloved child...back from using all that He has put within you to expand His kingdom and do what He saved you to do. No more laziness, dear Christian. No more.
Find every jar in the house you can find, like the widow of Zarephath in Elisha's day, and bring them to the Lord to be filled (1 Kings 17). Then search for every other jar you can possibly find, and bring those to Him too. Bring as many baskets as you can, for the leftovers the Lord will provide when His miraculous, exponential, replicating work of your last little bit of supply is worked right before your eyes (Matthew 14). Take the arrows God has given you and beat the ground with them over, and over, and over, and over again and again and again and again until you are too tired to stand up straight, and then wait for the promised blessing from the Lord (2 Kings 13). Use every net you can muster to haul in the fish the Lord will give you when you follow the lead of His voice in prayer, waiting on a word of knowledge on where to find the resources you need (Luke 5, John 21).
The gospel is a promise. It is God's guarantee that everything you put your hand to will be blessed. But you must believe. And believing means acting like these promise, this amazing guarantee is true about you. That's why those who don't work are called unbelievers in 1 Timothy 5:8. They don't live like they believe in the promise of the gospel. Christians LIVE like they believe in the gospel. They WORK like it. They GIVE like it. They SPEND like it. They PLANT like it. They HARVEST like it. They CREATE BUSINESSES like they believe in the gospel. They MULTIPLY MONEY like they believe in it.
If you are a saint, this is what God has called you to do. Leave any reflections of laziness behind you. You have the promise, guarantee, and in fact, the very person of God not just behind your efforts, but within your efforts. It is God who works within you to do what you do, for His glory, and for the provision of your needs and most importantly the expansion of the kingdom of God.
